Inverse
by Hyoxjnn
Summary: One-Shot: Not everything Vanitas feels is real... But that doesn't mean it's any less 'real' for him... [Twelve Shots of Summer]


**Week 8 of the **_**Twelve Shots of Summer**_  
**Mission Mail: Compose a story on the theme of 'Too Far Gone', fail and face true despair.**

* * *

**I tried something different, this time I didn't even **_**look**_** at the word count; let's see if I can write a good story without knowing how many words are in it, shall we? :D**

**Because of time-zones, I'm not **_**sure**_** what time it is in Murica right now, but I'm hoping it's still Saturday, because I've posted a little later than I should've XD**  
**Forgive me, Chronical Guardian...**

**Speaking of different, I tried writing something **_**really**_**... Uh, 'grisly', shall we say.**  
**I've always wanted to write a story that could really make an audience recoil, and I hope this does that, and doesn't turn out to be like some cheap B-Grade movie XD**

**Anyway, please enjoy!**

* * *

**Inverse**

"Empty creature from Ventus riven..." The corners of Master Xehanort's mouth twitched upwards as he gazed upon his creation, "to you... The name 'Vanitas', shall be given."  
Vanitas, the embodiment of Ventus's darkness, faced forward, his mind in a dazed trance, due to his fragmented heart.

"Yes... Master."

_He's... Meeting someone right now._  
Vanitas lay on the barren ground of the Badlands, his still-healing mind barely managing to form coherant thoughts.  
The loud wind blew through the hard rocky landscape as it always had. Never quieting.  
Suddenly, he realised that someone was walking down the stairs, approaching him.

"_I'm Terra. What's your name?_" A strong-looking man introduced himself in a friendly manner. Vanitas gave a tiny smile, overjoyed at the prospect of meeting someone new.

"I'm... Vanitas. Nice to meet you...!" He mumbled out, happily staring at the sky, waiting for Terra to reply.  
But Terra didn't even seem to hear him.  
Vanitas's expression saddened ever so slightly, as he spoke again, "I'm... I'm Vanitas. Nice to meet you..." Just then, Vanitas thought he heard a quiet voice...

"_... Ven-... -tus..._"

"_Whew...! You can talk!" _Terra chuckled, looking at Vanitas, who smiled, happy that he wasn't being ignored, "_Aqua, c'mere!" _Terra called out behind him.

_Oh... Another one...!_ Vanitas's felt his chest constrict in anticipation as yet another new figure approached him.

"_Hi, I'm Aqua._" She smiled.

_People... Real people...!_ Vanitas overjoyed, at least, as overjoyed as his broken heart would allow.

"Terra... Aqua...!" Vanitas's smile grew a bit wider, and he shuffled his feet on the smooth, polished floor.

"_Terra... Aqua..._"

_That voice again..._ Vanitas was confused for a moment, but he ignored the voice, focusing on his new friends, Terra and Aqua.

"_So, are you here to train with us?_" Terra grinned, "_where're you from?_" So many questions, it made Vanitas happy. He would answer them all, "_who's that man with you? You good with a Keyblade?"_  
Before Vanitas could answer, Aqua gasped, worrying Vanitas, "_whoa!_" Terra ran towards Vanitas, "_what's the matter?_"

"I-... I'm fine-" Vanitas stammered, but Terra, now followed by Aqua, ran right past him.

"_Are you okay?_" Aqua exclaimed, clearly anxious over... Something; Vanitas turned around.

"Hey... Where are you-" Vanitas stopped himself when he saw that Terra and Aqua were kneeling next to another boy, younger, and curled up on the floor in pain.

"Who-... Who's that...?" Vanitas ran over to the young boy, but no one paid any attention to him, "hey... Terra... Aqua...! Stop ignoring me-" he tried to shake Terra's shoulder, but his hand went right through him, "what the...!?" Vanitas tried to touch him again, but to no avail.  
His surroundings flickered, and he became aware that the sun was very, very hot.

"_What did you do...?!_" An older, refined voice called out from behind Vanitas.

"I- it wasn't me!" Vanitas leapt off the hot stone ground, and whirled around, but again, no one paid him any mind.

"_W-well... Anyway, we should get him to a bed, come on Terra._" Aqua picked Ventus up, and motioned with her head, for Terra to follow her.

"_Hm... Yes,_" the refined man spoke again, "_you two go on ahead, I still need to discuss things with Master Xehanort."_

"Ah...!" Vanitas only just realised the elderly man standing near the refined man, "M-Master...!" He cried, surely _he_ would acknowledge him.  
But... No. He didn't.

"_Man... He's totally out of it._"

"_Maybe you shouldn't of asked him so many questions then, Terra._"

"_Well, excuuuse me, princess._"

"W-wait!" Vanitas ran after them, "don't... Don't leave me...!"  
Vanitas collided with the rock plateau in front of him, "owww..." Vanitas fell back to the ground, snivelling, and looked around him, realising he was still in the Badlands.  
Alone.

* * *

"That... Is an 'Unversed', Vanitas." Xehanort rumbled, indicating the small, blue creature that was darting around the place.  
The thing had leapt out of Vanitas shortly after he had injured himself, and truthfully, Xehanort had only recently coined the term; interestingly, Vanitas had felt something like low-level euphoria, upon releasing it, "I do believe... That it's a manifestation of your negativity... Which means...!" Xehanort unexpectedly summoned his Keyblade, and sliced clean through the Unversed.

_What... Did..._  
All of a sudden, the Unversed dissipated into a black mass of air, and flew right back into Vanitas.

"_AAARRRGGGHHH...!_" Vanitas's body seized up as he felt the negativity he had released re-enter him.  
Sorrow.  
Fear.  
Anger.  
Pain.  
It was clear that the Unversed's death had amplified the emotions it carried; Vanitas looked up to see Xehanort's Keyblade falling towards him... Realising too late to stop it messily cleaving its way through his body; Vanitas's mouth slowly opened, and he screamed what he thought must have been the loudest he had in his life; tears forced their way out of his eyes as he started to lose feeling in the lower half of his body; he could feel his flesh being carved apart, strings of skin tissue and muscle made a disgusting ripping sound as they snapped off from him; his ribs each cricked and cracked, and finally, broke apart under the pressure of Xehanort's attack; his blood flowed out of his body, along with...  
And then it stopped.  
Vanitas looked up, for real this time, to see Xehanort watching him, a curious expression on his face.

_Whoosh...!_

Vanitas felt a small sense of relief as the negative emotion from the illusion exited his body, taking the form of three more Unversed, larger, and stronger looking than the previous one.

"Intriguing..." Xehanort stroked his goatee, studying Vanitas's face, his mouth hanging open in shock, some tears still dripping off of his face, "it would seem that whenever you experience negativity, you release it in the form of these... Creatures," Xehanort chuckled, and flourished his Keyblade, walking towards the closest Unversed.  
Vanitas felt a sense of dread.  
"... When defeated, their negativity is amplified, and returns to you... Vanitas," he stopped walking, now addressing him personally, "this... Is an excellent chance to strengthen yourself. Master the negativity these creatures bring you... And you shall be worthy of producing the χ-blade for me...!" Xehanort's face was filled with glee, as he prepared to strike down another Unversed.

"_NO!_" Vanitas cried desperately, and thrusted his arm out in a plea to stop Xehanort; the Unversed, responding to Vanitas's desire, avoided Xehanort's strike, and attempted to land one of it's own... But Xehanort was too fast; moving with a speed that belied his old age, he cut off the Unversed's arm, and through its head in quick succession.  
The first thing that Vanitas saw was his arm; already outstretched in front of him.  
The area around his bicep separated, as if sliced open by an invisible blade, giving him a clear cross-section of his upper-arm; he screamed again, he screamed and screamed until his throat felt as if it would die, but he kept screaming as his arm fell away, his own blood spattered all over him, he saw the insides of his marrow: A deep, crimson red substance that looked like dirt, it dropped from the bone, and slid down his chest.  
His stomach lurched.  
Vanitas's vision started to blur as he saw Xehanort's Keyblade rushing towards his face; the sharpened edge of the blade met Vanitas's eye with minimal resistance; a sickening crunching noise wormed its way into Vanitas's head as Xehanort's blade carved into his eyeball, and through his skull.  
Vanitas became vaguely aware of the fact that his voice had stopped...

"Amazing..." Xehanort continued to examine Vanitas from afar, "you truly believe that this is happening, don't you...?"  
Vanitas was brought back to reality as he realised that he was back on the ground, crying and gasping for air, "what do you feel...?" Xehanort pondered, "... _How_ do you feel?" He advanced towards the next Unversed, a twisted smile on his face.

"... Please..." Vanitas whispered, almost inaudible; his mind already broken from being 'killed' twice.

Xehanort swung his Keyblade up...

"Dark... Firaza...!" He boomed, and pointed his Keyblade at his next target.  
Vanitas could already feel the blistering heat of the flames engulfing the Keyblade; he could already imagine his blood boiling, his skin crackling, blistering, sloughing off; his own body fats and oils fueling the fire-

"_STOP!_" Vanitas sobbed out.  
It had taken all of the effort in the world to manage that.

"... Alright. Good idea," Xehanort relented, and lowered his weapon, the flames still dancing around it.  
Vanitas felt a sense of immense relief, and noticed that the count of Unversed around him had increased significantly; he must have produced them during his last 'death'.  
However... Xehanort turned his gaze on Vanitas himself, and gave him that familiar, chilling smile.  
Vanitas's blood ran cold.  
"Why don't... _You_ do it?"

The world stopped.

...

...

...

"Wh-... -at...?" The wind that had constantly blew through the Badlands seemed to have ceased.  
Vanitas could no longer hear anything.

"You... Kill it." Xehanort ordered Vanitas, "_now._"  
If he didn't kill it himself, Xehanort would no doubt decide to burn it to death, himself.  
But he could hardly stand.  
He could hardly even breathe.

"... Kill me."

"No." Not a hint of remorse.

...

"... Kill me...!"

"You still have a purpose to serve-"

"_PLEASE, KILL ME!_"

...

"... You have ten seconds to kill it..." Xehanort said, harshly.

"... Please... Please, kill me."

"... Or I burn them all. At the same time. Slowly." the fire around Xehanort's Keyblade grew in preparation, in case Vanitas didn't make it.

"Please..."

"Ten... Nine..."

"Don't..."  
He didn't make it.

* * *

"... What do you make of Ventus?" Xehanort leisurely strolled through the hall.  
Surely he was joking.  
Had Ventus experienced death?  
Had he felt anything _close_ to the amount of pain, anguish, and rage that Vanitas had endured?  
Had Ventus been broken so badly, that he would rather die by his own hand, than continue to suffer?  
No.  
He hadn't.  
And that enraged Vanitas.

"... He ain't gonna cut it," he replied, "somebody's gotta break that loser in."

* * *

_I... Lost...?_  
It was inconceivable.  
Vanitas had been through so much... He had survived the kind of pain that would mentally destroy anyone else... For the majority of it, he had inflicted it on himself.  
Have you any idea what that's like?  
To be killed _yourself_. To _see_ yourself kill you.  
To be prevented from _actually_ killing yourself? For days? Months? Years?  
No. Of course not.  
And yet... Ventus had utterly defeated him.

"_Hmph... It's always about your friends, isn't it?_" Vanitas had asked him, bitterly.

"_At least I _have_ some!_" Ventus shot back.  
That had actually hurt him.  
More than the years of agony that he had endured.

Vanitas reached out in vain for the χ-blade. It was so close... So close...  
But no matter how hard he tried... His hands could not reclaim the weapon. The one that was to be his salvation. With it... He would be free to do what he wanted.  
It was too late.

_... Fine._ Vanitas stopped struggling, as he drifted away from the χ-blade; a look of sadness on his face.  
_I don't care anymore._ He slowly closed his eyes...  
_I'm tired... Just... Let me rest._  
And just like that... Vanitas disappeared into the depths of Ventus's heart.

* * *

It wouldn't be long before Vanitas realised that he wasn't dead. He was still with Ventus.  
Maimed.  
Tortured.  
Weak.  
But very much alive.  
There were still many Unversed roaming the Worlds, and soon... Keyblade Master Aqua would hunt them down.  
Deep within the dark, silent, empty abyss of Ventus's heart, Vanitas could still do nothing but scream, and wait for it all to end...

* * *

**So...**  
**Still feel good when you attack an Unversed?**

**:P**

**For less disturbed (and better written) works, please have a gander at the **_**Twelve Shots of Summer**_** community.**  
**(Geddit? Isslika **_**GOOSE.**_**)**

**It's fun. Promise.**

**Bye!**

**(**_**X Days**_** WILL be updated before the week ends, I **_**promise**_** X'D)**


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